Brake for spinning and twisting spindles



Jan. 4, 1966 E. MAURER 3, 6,9 3

BRAKE FOR SPINNING AND TWISTING SPINDLES Filed July 30, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR EUGE N H H U RE R BY id f fmw ATTORNEY Jan. 4,1966 E. mu 3,226,923

BRAKE FOR SPINNING AND TWISTING SPINDLES Filed July 30, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent r 3,226,923 BRAKEFOR SPINNING AND TWISTING SPINDLES Eugen Maurer, Murrhardt, Germany,assignor to Spintex Sp1nnerei=Maschinenbau, Stiehl, Fromm & Co.,Murrhardt, Germany Filed July 30, 1963, Ser. No. 298,638 Claimspriority, application Germany, Sept. 28, 1962, S 42,727

Claims. (Cl; 57-88) The present invention relates to spinning ortwisting spindles in general, and more particularly to an improved whorlbrake for such spindles.

It is an important object of the invention to provide a self-centeringbrake for thewhorls or wharves of spinning and twisting spindles whichis constructed and mounted in such a way that it may be readilyconnected to or separated from the supporting structure of a spindle toavoid interference with the work of an operator who is in charge ofcentering the spindle with respect to the spinning ring.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brake of the justoutlined characteristics which is constructed in such a way that it canreadily withstand repeated detachment from and reconnection to thesupporting structure ofa spindle without affecting the accuracy andstrength of its braking action and without necessitating dismantling ofthe remainder of the spindle assembly, which may be manufactured at lowcost of readily available materials, which can be detached andreconnected without special tools, and whose braking action may beintensified or lessened as desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brake which isarranged to engage and to brake the whorl of a brake for spinning andtwisting spindles which may automatically return to its idle position assoon as it is released by the hand of an operator so that the durationof the braking action may be selected'at will.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brake which may bereadily installed in all or nearly all types of conventional spinning ortwisting spindle assemblies without necessitating any or bynecessitating only minor alterations in the construction of suchassemblies. "Another object of the'invention is to provide a brake whichwill exert a strong braking action without necessitating human effortfor such braking action excepting for moving it to braking position sothat the braking action continues as soon as the brake is moved to itsoperative'position and until the operator decides to re turn the braketo its idle position. I

A further object of my invention is to provide a brake which may beproduced at extremely low cost, which consists of a single piece ofsuitable wear resistant material so that. it may be rapidly connected toor separated from the supporting structure of a spindle, and which maybe furnished withspare parts for certain of its sections whichare'subjected to maximum wear whenthe brake is in usel With the aboveobjects in view, one feature of my invention resides in the provision ofa spindle assembly which includes a spindle arranged to rotate about afixed axis and including a whorl having a peripheral surface,

supporting means adjacent to the whorl and rotatably 3,226,923 PatentedJan. 4, 1966 receiving a portion of the spindle, and a brake pivotablyconnected with the supporting means for movement about an axis which isperpendicular to the axis of the spindle between a braking position offrictional engagement with the peripheral surface of the whorl and anidle position of disengagement from the whorl. At least a portion of thebrake consists of elastically deformable material and the connectionbetween the brake and the supporting means is such that the brake may beseparated from and reconnected with the supporting means in response todeformation of its material. For example, the connection between thebrake and the supporting means may comprise a pair of coaxial pivotssecured to or integral with suitable projections of the brake andcomplementary recesses or bores in the supporting means. It is alsopossible to reverse the position of the pivots so that the brake isprovided with recesses or bores which receive pivots fixed to thesuporting means. In each instance, the elas ticity of the brake shouldbe sufiicient to permit with drawal of pivots from their respectiverecesses in response to elastic deformation of the material of which thebrake consists.

I prefer to provide the brake with a pronounced handle and with abraking portion including two diverging braking arms whose internalfaces may move into and out of frictional engagement with that portionof the peripheral surface on the whorl which is adjacent to thesupporting means, i.e., if the axis of the spindle is vertical and ifthe whorl is disposed above the supporting means, the braking faces ofthe arms will engage the lower portion of the peripheral surface on thewhorl which is adjacent to a bearing sleeve forming part of thesupporting means for the spindle.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the brake consistsof wear resistant elastically deformable thermoplastic material whosesoftening point is above the highest temperature which develops when thebrake is in actual use.

The novel features which are considered as character' istic of theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theimproved spindle assembly itself, however both as to its constructionand its mode of operation, together with additional features andadvantages thereof, will be best understood from the following detaileddescription of certain specific embodiments with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a spindle assembly including awhorl brake which embodies my invention, a portion of the supportingmeans for the spindle being broken away and the idle position of thebrake being shown in phantom lines;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the spindle assembly;

FIG. 2a is a top plan view of a modified spindle assembly;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a third spindle assembly which includes adifferent brake;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section through one arm of the brake as seen inthe direction of arrows from the line IV-IV of FIG. 3; and 7 FIG. 5 is atop plan view of a fourth spindle assembly with a brake having divergingarms whose span is less than 180 degrees.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, the improved brake A comprises ahandle 1 and a braking portion including two prong-like divergingarcuate arms 2, 3 which are integral with the handle. The entire brakemay consist of a single piece of suitablethermoplastic material having ahigh coefiicient of friction and which is somewhat braking faces 6, 8which may be moved into and out of braking engagement with theperipheral surface of a rotary whorl by engaging this surface at theopposite sides of the vertical axis of the spindle S, see FIG. 2. Theextent to which the brake A may pivot with respect to the whorl 5 isdetermined by a third braking face 7 which is located centrally betweenthe faces 6, 8 and which engages the peripheral surface of the whorlwhen the brake assumes the full-line operative position of FIG. 1. Whenthe brake is in unstressed condition, the distance between the brakingfaces 6, 8 is less than the diameter of the whorl so that the arms 2, 3must be deformed in order to move the brake to its operative position.In the illustrated embodiment, the faces 6, 8 are arranged to engage thelower portion of the peripheral surface of the whorl 5.

The arms 2, 3 are respectively provided with downwardly extendingprojections or brackets 9, 10 which carry coaxial inwardly extendinghorizontal pivots 11, 12 adapted to enter suitable recesses 18 in abearing sleeve 13 which forms part of the supporting means for and inwhich a portion of the spindle S rotates. The sleeve 13 abuts againstthe lower end face of the whorl 5. The pivots 11, 12 and the handle 1are located at the same side of a vertical symmetry plane 5' whichpasses through the axis of the whorl 5, and the braking faces 6, 8extend to both sides of this plane when the brake A assumes itsoperative position. The bearing sleeve 13 is mounted on an aperturedsupporting plate 17 whose front edge 16 serves as an abutment for thehandle 1 when the brake A assumes its idle position in which the faces6, 7 and 8 are spaced from the peripheral surface of the whorl 5, thisidle position being shown in FIG. 1 in phantom lines. Since the arms 2,3 must move their respective faces 6, 8 away from each other when thebrake is moved to its operative position, these faces engage theperipheral surface of the whorl with considerable friction to arrest thewhorl and to automatically retain the brake in such operative position.The braking force may be augmented by pivoting the brake in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in FIG. 1, in order to press the central brakingface 7 against the whorl in response to manual pressure against thehandle 1. In other words, the face 7 and the edge 16 determine theextent of pivotal movement of the brake between its end positions. Thearrangement is such that the arms 2, 3 may be pivoted between thefullline and phantom-line positions of FIG. 1 without interfering withthe customary driver belt (not shown) which transmits rotary motion tothe whorl.

The spindle assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2 operates as follows:

It is assumed that the brake was moved to its idle position (phantomlines) in which the faces 6, 8 are located at the left-hand side of theplane 5 and-that the operator thereupon desires to arrest the spindle.The handle 1 is grasped to pivot the brake in a clockwise direction, asviewed in FIG. 1, whereby the faces 6, 8 move into engagement with thelower portion of the peripheral surface on the whorl 5 and move beyondthe plane 5' so that the whorl spreads the arms 2, 3 and the frictionalforce of the thus expanded arms is sufficient to arrest the spindle. Inother words, the resistance which the material of the brake olfers toexpansion of the arms 2, 3 is sufficient to arrest the whorl and tothereby arrest the spindle as soon as the brake assumes the full-lineposition of FIG. 1. As explained hereinabove, the braking action may beenhanced by forcing the centrally located braking face 7 against theperiphery of the whorl, and this centrally located face simultaneouslylimits the extent to which the brake may be pivoted in a direction awayfrom the edge 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the pivots 11, 12 are received inthe bores 18 with some play which is suificient to allow for automaticcentering of the brake when the faces 6, 8 engage the periphery of thewhorl so that the wear on the arms 2, 3 is the same and that these armssubject the whorl to a balanced braking action.

Since the material of the brake is at least slightly elastic, the pivots11, 12 may be inserted into or withdrawn from the bores 18 withoutnecessitating dismantling of the remainder of the assembly. All that isnecessary is to exert upon the handle 1 a force which is sufficient towithdraw the pivots from their respective recesses or to spread the arms2, 3 to such an extent that the pivots may snap into the recesses inorder to restore the brake to the position of FIGS. 1 and 2. Inconnecting the brake to the sleeve 13, the operator merely places thepivots 11, 12 against the periphery of the sleeve and thereupon pushesagainst the handle 1 so that the arms 2, 3 are compelled to move apartuntil the pivots snap into the respective bores. Thus, the improvedbrake may be connected to or disconnected from its support with littleloss in time, without necessitating any tools, and without necessitatingeven partial dismantling of the remainder of the spindle assembly. Thisis of particular advantage when it becomes necessary to center thespindle with respect to the spinning ring, a procedure which must becarried out at certain intervals and which is ditficult to carry out ifthe brake is connected to the support in which the spindle rotates. As arule, a spindle must be centered at intervals of one or more months.

It must be noted, however,.that it is not always necessary to mount thebrake A on the bearing sleeve 13. For example, the brake A may readilybe mounted on a special washer which may be provided between sleeve 13and plate 17 or the brake may be mounted directly on plate 17.

FIG. 2a illustrates a portion of a modified brake B wherein the arms 2B,3B are provided with coaxial recesses in the form of blind bores 18Barranged to receive projections in the form of pivots 11B, 12B which areintegral with or which are anchored in the sleeve 13B. Otherwise, theassembly of FIG. 2a is identical with that of the previously describedembodiment.

It will be noted that the horizontal pivot axis of the brake A or B islocated in the housing of the spindle. This pivot aXis extends betweenthe vertical axis of the spindle and the handle 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a somewhat different spindleassembly which includes a spindle having a whorl 5 and a modified brakeC having a handle 10 and two diverging braking arms 2C, 3C which areprovided with a continuous braking face 19 extending along more than 180degrees but substantially less than 360 degrees so that the end portionsof this face 19 will extend-beyond the symmetry .plane 5' when the brakeC is moved to its operative position in which the face 19 engages theperipheral surface of the whorl. The diameter of the face 19 is smallerthan the diameter of the whorl when the brake C is in unstressedcondition so that the arms 2C, 3C are forced apart when the brake ismoved to its operative position. As in the first describedembodiment,'the face 19 will preferably engage the lower portion of thewhorl 5, i.e., that portion of the peripheral surface on the whorl whichis nearer to the supporting means 13, 17, only the sleeve 13 having beenshown in FIG. 3.

In order to insure that the brake C will withstand longlasting wear, Iprefer to provide this brake with a liner 19L of wear-resistant elasticplastic material and to anchor this liner in the material of the arms20, 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the liner 19L is T-shaped and comprises arearwardly extending external rib 19 which is received and anchored in acomplementary groove provided in the arms 2C, 30 and which may be weldedor otherwise bonded to the remainder of the brake. The friction face 19is thus defined by the inner side of the liner 19L. The liner 19L maybut need not extend along the entire face 19, i.e., it is equallypossible to provide two or three liners which reinforce the ends of thearms 2C, 3C and the the portion which is provided with the face 7 in theembodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.

If desired, the liner 19L may be made separable from the remainder ofthe brake C so thatit may be replaced by a new liner after a Certainperiod of use. The manner in which the brake C is secured to thesupporting structure of the spindle is the same as described inconnection with FIGS. 1-2, or FIG. 2a. 7

It goes without saying that the handle 1 or 1C may be made longer orshorter and that this handle may assume another shape without inany waydeparting from the spirit of my invention. Thus, one may wish to use astick shaped handle or a handle which asumes the form of an eye orhoop,,and it is equally possible to provide the handle with stiffeninginserts in order to insure that it will withstand deformation at thetime the arms are de: formed while moving intoor out of brakingengagement with the whorl or at the time the brake is detached from orreconnected to the sleeve 13. a

While I prefer to utilize braking arms which consist of elasticallydeformable synthetic plastic material, it is equally possible to use ametal which is configurated in such a way that its arms will yield inresponse to engagement with the whorl, i.e., all that counts is toprovide a brake at least a portion of which is elastically deformable inresponse to movement against the whorl and whose arms will return totheir unstressed positions when the brake is pivoted inorder to releasethe whorl.

FIG. illustrates another embodiment of my invention which is ofparticular advantage when the brake should not remain in its operativeposition. The brake D comprises a handle 1D and a braking portion in theform of two diverging arms 2D, 3D which together form a semicircularstructure extending along an arc of normally slightly less but not morethan 180 degrees. The radius of curvature of the braking face 19D onthearms 2D, 3D is less than the radius of the whorl 5 when the arms are notdeformed so that the brake is partially deformed at the time the handle1D is pivoted in a direction to move the face 19D against the peripheralsurface of the whorl.

The brake-body with the handle may consist of thermoplastics while thespindle contacting friction parts 19 may consist of thermosettingplastics.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by

a braking portion having an arcuate face extending along an arc" ofabout 180 degrees and having end portions facing each other; and pivotmeans connecting said brake wit id supporting meansjso that the brake ispivotable about an axis which is perpendicular to the axis of saidspindleflbjetween an operative position in which at least the endportions of said arcuate face engage the peripheral surface of saidwhorl and an idle position of disengagementfrom said. whorl, at least aportion of said brake COIISiSti Hg Of elastically deformable materialand the arrangement of said pivot means being such that the brake may beseparated from and reconnected with said supporting means in response todeformation of said deformable material. l

3. A spindle assembly as set forth in claim 2, wherein said pivot meanscomprises a pair of elastically deformable brackets each having a firstportion rigid with one of said arms and a spaced second portion, and apair of spaced coaxial pivots each of which is rigid with one of saidsecond portions, said supporting means being providedfWith a pair ofaligned recesses spaced further apart applying current knowledge,readily, adapt it for various J applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic and specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be-comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is; I

1. A spindlev assembly for spinning and twisting machines, comprising aspindle arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a whorlhaving a peripheral surface; supporting means adjacent to said whorl androtatably receiving a portion of said spindle; and a brake pivotablyconnected with said supporting means for movement about an axis which isperpendicular to the axis of said spindle between an operative positionof frictional engagement with the peripheral surface of said whorl andan idle position of disengagement from the whorl, at least a portion ofsaid brake consisting of elastically deformable material and theconnection between said brake and said supporting means being such thatthe brake may be separated from and reconnected with said supportingmeans in response to deformation of said deformable material.

2. A spindle assembly for spinning and twisting machines, comprising aspindle arranged torotate about a fixed axis and including a whorlhaving a peripheral surface; supporting means adjacent to said whorl androtatably receiving a portion of said spindle; a brake comprising a pairof diverging braking arms arranged to form than the normal spacing ofsaid pivots and each arranged to receive one of said pivots when saidbrackets are sufiiciently deformed to permit said pivots to enter saidrecesses. I

4, A spindle assembly as set forth in claim 2, wherein said pivot meanscomprises a pair of elastically deformable brackets each having a firstportion rigid with one of said .arms and a spaced second portion, and apair of spaced coaxial pivots rigid with and extending from saidsupporting means, said brackets being provided with aligned recessesnormally spaced closer to each other than said pivots, each of saidrecesses being arranged to receive one of said pivots when said bracketsare sufiicientlydeformed to permit said pivots to enter said recesses. l

5. A spindle assembly for spinning and twisting machines, comprising aspindle arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a whorlhaving a peripheral surface; supporting means adjacent to said whorl androtatably receiving a portion of said spindle; a brake comprisingahandle and a braking portion having an arcuate face extending along anarc of about degrees; and pivot means connecting said brake with saidsupporting means so that the brake is pivotable with play about an axiswhich is perpendicular to the axis of said spindle between an operativeposition in which at least a portion of said arcuate face engages theperipheral surface of said whorl and an idle position of disengagementfrom said whorl, at least a portion of said brake consisting ofelastically deformable material and the arrangement of saidpivot meansbeing such that the brake may be separated from and reconnected withsaid supporting means in response to deformation of said deformablematerial, said play permitting the brake to center itself with respectto said whorl when said handle is actuated to pivd't said face intofrictional engagement with the peripheral surface of the whorl.

6. A spindle assembly for spinning and twisting machines, comprising aspindle arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a whorlhaving a peripheral surface; supporting means adjacent to said whorl androtatably receiving a portion of said spindle; a brake comprising ahandle and a braking portion having an arcu ate face extending along anarc of more than 180 degrees but substantially less than 360 degrees,said face having end portions whose spacing is less than the diameter ofsaid peripheral surface; and pivot means connecting sa-id brake withsaid supporting means so that the brake is pivotable about an axis whichis perpendicular to the axis of said spindle between an operativeposition in which the end portions of said arcuate face engage theperipheral surface of said whorl and an idle position of disengagementfrom said whorl, at least a portion of said brake consisting ofelastically deformable material and the arrangement of said pivotmeans'being such that the brake may be separated from and reconnectedwith said supporting means in response to deformation of said deformablematerial, said braking portion being deformed to permit frictionalengagement between said peripheral surface and the end portions of saidarcuate face when the brake is moved to said operative posi' tion.

7. A spindle assembly for spinning and twisting machines, comprising-aspindle arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a whorlhaving a peripheral surface; supporting means adjacent -to said whorland fro-, tatably receiving a portion of said spindle; and a brakepivotably connected with said supporting means for movement about anaxis which is perpendicular to the axis of said spindle between anoperative position of frictional engagement with the peripheral surfaceof said whorl and an idle position of disengagement from the whorl, atleast a portion of said. brake consisting of elastically deformablematerial and the connection between said brake and said supporting meansbeing such that the brake may be separated from and reconnected withsaid supporting means in response to deformation of said deformablematerial, said brake having a pair of spaced braking faces whose spacingis normally less than the diameter of said whorl and which engage thewhorl at the opposite sides of the axis of said spindle when the brakeis moved to said operative position whereby such faces retain the brakein operative position.

a 8. A spindle assembly for spinning and twisting machines, comprising aspindle arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a whorlhaving a peripheral surface; supporting means adjacentto said whorl androtatably receiving a portion of said spindle; and a brake pivotablyconnected with said supporting means for movement about an axis which isperpendicular to the axis of said spindle between an operative positionof frictional engagement with the peripheral surface of said whorl andan idle position of disengagement from the whorl, said brake consistingof a single piece of elastically deformable synthetic material and theconnection between said brake and said supporting means being such thatthe brake may be separated from and reconnected with said supportingfrnans in response to deformation of said deformable material, saidbrake comprising a braking portion including two diverging arms andhaving a liner of wear resistant friction producing material arranged toengage the peripheral surface of said whorl when the brake assumes saidoperative position.

' 9. 'A spindle assembly for spinning and twisting machines, comprisinga spindle arranged to rotate about a fixed axis and including a'whorlhaving aperipheral sur-. face; supporting means adjacent to said whorland rotatably receiving a port-ion of said spindle; and a brakepivotably connected with said supporting means for movement about anaxis which is perpendicular to the axis of said spindlebetween anoperative position of frictional engagement with the peripheral surfaceof said whorl and an idle position of disengagement from the whorl, saidbrake consisting of a single piece of elastically deformable .syntheticmaterial whose, softening pointis above the maximal temperaturedeveloping in response to fric-,

tional engagement with said whorl and the connection between said brakeand said supporting means being such that the brake may be separatedfrom and reconnected with said supporting means in response todeformation of said deformable material.

10. As anovel article of manufacture, a whorl brake for spinning andtwisting spindles, said brake consisting of a single piece ofelastically deformable synthetic plastic material and including amanually operable handle and a pair of diverging arms having portionsfacing each other and being arranged to move into and out of frictionalengagement with opposite surface portions of the whorl of a spindle, andpivot means integral with each of said arms and also consisting ofsaidelastically deform-able synthetic plastic material for facilitatingthe connection of said brake to a spindle support.

References Cited by the Examiner M UNITED STATES PATENTS MERVIN STEIN,Primary Examiner.

10. AS A NOVEL ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE, A WHORL BRAKE FOR SPINNING ANDTWISTING SPINDLES, SAID BRAKE CONSISTING OF A SINGLE PIECE OFELASTICALLY DEFORMABLE SYNTHETIC PLASTIC MATERIAL AND INCLUDING AMANUALLY OPERABLE HANDLE AND A PAIR OF DIVERGING ARMS HAVING PORTIONSFACING EACH OTHER AND BEING ARRANGED TO MOVE INTO AND OUT OF FRICTIONALENGAGEMENT WITH OPPOSITE SURFACE PORTIONS OF THE WHORL OF A SPINDLE, ANDPIVOT MEANS INTEGRAL WITH EACH OF SAID ARMS AND ALSO CONSISTING OF SAIDELASTICALLY DEFORMABLE SYNTHETIC PLASTIC MATERIAL FOR FACILITATING THECONNECTION OF SAID BRAKE TO A SPINDLE SUPPORT.